Talk ‘N Text holds off Ginebra to remain unbeaten

Ranidel De Ocampo of Talk N Text (light) vs Leon Rodgers of Ginebra (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines — Talk ‘N Text withstood a late charge by Barangay Ginebra to win, 94-87, in the 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang Texters led by as much as 16 early in the fourth quarter but needed some clutch baskets down the stretch to hold off the Kings and stay unbeaten after six games.

“I think my team played good defense today,” said TNT head coach Norman Black.

“They were able to make a lot of open shots against us but we held them down enough to be able to get the win,” added Black.

Ranidel de Ocampo scored 28 points for the Texters, who saw their 16-point lead dwindle down to four, 89-85, with 51.6 seconds left.

Jimmy Alapag drove and found a wide open Larry Fonacier for the dagger trey that gave Talk ‘N Text a 92-85 cushion with only 29.4 ticks left.

TNT import Richard Howell had 19 points and 23 rebounds to go along with two blocks.

Ginebra trimmed the deficit to six, 87-81, on a basket by LA Tenorio but the Kings lost their momentum on a missed call by a referee on a crucial possession.

Ryan Reyes clearly touched the ball last before it went out of bounds but the possession still remained with TNT which eventually resulted to a basket by de Ocampo that pushed the Texters lead back to eight, 89-81, with 1:32 remaining.

“I saw it and I think it should have been their ball. It was one call the entire game and we can go back to the game and I don’t think my import fouled but he got called for a foul so it’s the breaks of the game,” said Black.

The Kings managed to pull to within four, 85-89, on a coast-to-coast layup by Tenorio with under a minute left before Fonacier drilled in a big 3-pointer.

Despite a 6-0 start, Black said his team has no “room to relax” with other teams like San Mig Coffee and San Miguel Beer close behind in the standings.

“Well, one team doesn’t have any losses while the other only has one so we could easily drop so we have to continue on winning. I don’t think we can be safe until maybe the last game of the conference,” he said.

Leon Rodgers paced Ginebra with 32 points and 11 rebounds while Mark Caguioa added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Japeth Aguilar was a nonfactor for the Kings, who slid to 2-3, at the offensive end with just five points on one-of-six shooting from the field in 20 minutes of action.

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